Two members of the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education will stand for re-election on April 15.
Board members Lori Semel, who represents Englishtown, and James Mumolie, who represents Manalapan, will run unopposed for three-year terms.
Two seats are up in Manalapan this year, but only Mumolie filed to run for office. The second available seat may go to a Manalapan resident who receives the most write-in votes.
The nine-member school board has eight representatives from Manalapan and one representative from Englishtown.
In seeking to continue on the board, Semel said, "I am looking forward to my next three years working with my colleagues on the board for all of our children in the district. I have learned a great deal during my first year with the board."
Semel said she is proud to continue the hard work that membership on the board requires, as well as working with the district’s administrators and staff members.
"I am excited about this year’s school budget which was worked on with great diligence by our board and business administrators Joe Passiment and Ronni Wolf," said Semel. "We continue to meet regularly with community members to discuss future goals, plans and needs to expand our middle school and one of our K-3 schools, [so that we may] handle the tremendous growth in our district.
"We are very hopeful we will have a large turnout of the community on election day," said Semel, "and hopefully the residents will pass the budget and future referendums to continue their support of the board’s good work. I am hopeful that in the future, community members will attend our board meetings to show their support for our school district as well as bringing their concerns and wishes to us."
"The education of our children is the most important obligation bestowed upon a parent next to love, shelter and food," he said. "In the complexity of the world today our children are called upon to comprehend a vast amount of material. This affords them less time to cultivate their childhood."
Mumolie said the state and federal governments demand an increasing amount of testing to secure financial aid. Their intentions are to demonstrate that the children have obtained a specific educational plateau, he explained.
"I have witnessed the false promises of Washington and Trenton throughout my tenure on the school board," said Mumolie. "I have been an advocate for our children and, to this end, I will continue to press the governmental bureaucracy to fulfill their promise to support the education of our children.
"With the support of the citizens of Manalapan, my fellow board members and the educators of our district, we can create an educational atmosphere where our children will continue to excel in school and still retain the joys that childhood entitles them," he said.
— Dave Benjamin